The services of cooks and chefs are used by the public every day – every time you eat at a restaurant, enjoy a catered event, or buy freshly made food from grocery stores, a cook or chef is involved. There has been a growing concern across all sectors in BC that employ cooks and chefs – hospitality, tourism, and food services – about potential shortages of skilled cooks and chefs to fill vacancies created by exits from the occupation and continuous industry growth.

Deetken was asked to assess the landscape of cooking occupations to help answer key questions: Are there in fact shortages of skilled cooks and chefs in BC? If so, why and how severe are the shortages? What are the potential trajectories? And what practical, defensible steps can be taken to address these challenges?

To answer these questions, Deetken built an analytical framework from a comprehensive set of data sources. A core component of the framework was a segmentation model that identified labour market characteristics by sector and occupational profile to isolate areas of real or potential labour shortage. Further analysis was conducted through structured interviews and focus groups to explore areas of concern, including - for example - the overall low participation and high exit rates from the occupation on the part of women.

Deetken worked closely with the client and a steering committee comprising senior executives across the sectors and BC government economists to vet the methodology and results and to build a targeted set of recommendations. These recommendations drove a simulation model to demonstrate their impact on the labour market for cooks and chefs over a 5-year timeframe. Next steps to implement the recommendations are currently underway.